Scandal of the Season (16 page)

“Ahh, the same sister who is having a birthday today?”

“Yes.”

“And what is her name?”

Name? He wanted a name! Why was the man interrogating her? “Mrs. Lillian Johnson. She and her husband David live in a small home on Hereford Street.” She leaned in closer to the table and him. “She married beneath herself. My father wanted her to marry a squire near Carlisle.”

“Why didn’t she do as her father expected?”

She really was far too good at telling stories. Perhaps she should speak with her friend Avis upon her return and talk with her about writing. “She and David skipped off to Gretna Green. By the time they had returned, she was already with child. My father was scandalized.”

“And I would guess your mother, too,” he added.

“Alas, my mother passed before that happened.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, then took his turn.

Victoria glanced up again at the clock. Somerton said thirty minutes and already thirty-five had passed with no sign of him. She looked down at the board and realized Hardy had several of his checkers already in. He could win the game in a turn or two. She had to come up with something to occupy his time until Somerton returned.

“So do you plan to visit your mother over the Christmas season?” she asked to keep their conversation going.

“It will depend on some things I have in progress.”

What an odd answer. “What type of things do you have in progress?”

He waved a hand at her and shook his head. “Just business things. Nothing that would interest you.”

She smiled in what she hoped was a seductive manner. “Oh, you might be wrong. I find everything about you fascinating.”

“Do you now? Perhaps when I get to know you better I will confide in you. But not until I know I can trust you.”

She blinked in surprise. “Trust me? Why wouldn’t you trust me?”

“You are still far too close to Somerton. And I do not trust him. He has barely given Farleigh the time of day for years because of his marriage to Hannah.”

“Why would Somerton care about that?”

“She and Somerton were close before she met Farleigh. Then he shows up here with you. There is more to his being here than just wanting to be at a party.”

“Such as?” she prodded.

“I believe he wants Lady Farleigh back in his bed.”

She tried to ignore the way her stomach clenched. “But Lady Farleigh seems very much in love with her husband.”

“All just an act to make Farleigh believe that the little slut is faithful to her husband.”

“Then why would Somerton bring me along?”

Hardy sneered at her. “To make Farleigh believe that he is not a threat to the Farleighs’ marriage. But as you say, you and Somerton have been arguing more. Perhaps that is because he planned to break it off with you to get Lady Farleigh again.”

Victoria chewed on her lower lip in thought. She wanted to believe Hardy was lying about this matter. But as she watched Somerton cross the threshold and glance over at Lady Farleigh, Victoria wondered if Hardy was speaking the truth.

Anthony watched as Victoria and Hardy continued to play their game of backgammon. After searching Hardy’s room for close to forty-five minutes, he had come up with nothing. Either Hardy was keeping some information on him or the missive had yet to be delivered to him.

Anthony’s frustration with the situation grew with every moment he spent at this damned party. He had to find the note and return Victoria to London before he did something they might both regret.

Nicholas walked up to him casually. “They have been playing backgammon for nearly an hour. Before that, he played a game of cards with Lord Bingham.”

“Thank you, Nicholas.” Anthony lowered his voice to a mere whisper. “I just checked his room and found nothing to incriminate him.”

“Do you think you might have been given the wrong information?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Anthony noticed the strange side glances that Victoria kept giving them. He would have to remind her to be more careful. Hardy might get suspicious. Slowly, she rose from her seat and gave Hardy a secretive smile. The urge to storm over there and kiss her in front of everyone grew.

What was wrong with him?

He had never felt such a strong reaction to a woman before now. Jealousy had never played a part in any relationship he’d had with other women. So why now? Especially when she was merely playing a part.

She walked past him without a look toward either him or Nicholas. He listened as her heels clicked down the marble hall. Noticing Hardy’s gaze on him, Anthony knew he had to wait before following Victoria to their room.

Hardy walked over toward them with a smug smile. All of Anthony’s senses heightened. The man seemed far too comfortable right now. As if he knew something Anthony did not. A slice of fear tracked down his back. Something was wrong.

He didn’t wait any longer and hurried back to his bedroom. Opening the door, he found Victoria sitting in the wingback chair with shoes off and her legs curled under her. He backed up against the door. The sheer beauty of her captivated him. He was a fool to think he could resist her.

“What are you about, Somerton?” she asked though her voice held the tiniest quaver.

“Nothing at all,” he replied.

“Did you find anything in Hardy’s room?”

“No.”

“Somerton, why are you still standing against the door?” she asked. “Are you feeling well?”

Bloody hell, he was not all right. Just seeing her sitting there in that chair had him hard with desire. How was he supposed to sleep in the same bed with her tonight?

“I need to leave,” he mumbled.

“Why?”

He turned toward the door and pounded his fist on it. Why couldn’t she understand how difficult this was for him? Because she did not know.

“If I don’t leave here right now, I am going to pick you up and take you to that bed.” He glanced back at her shocked face. “And we will not be sleeping.”

She licked her full lips sending another rush of blood to his cock. “What if I said that was all right?”

“It isn’t all right, Victoria.” He pounded on the door again. “After what I did to you ten years ago and then almost did today!”

“I thought I meant nothing to you,” she whispered.

He turned and stalked her. Stopping in front of her, he pulled her out of the chair and grabbed her shoulders. “What happened that night forged a bond between us that quite possibly neither of us wants to admit. I never stopped thinking about you or what I did to you. So do not ever think you mean nothing to me. I searched for weeks all over the streets of London, trying to find you again. No one knew of you.”

Victoria’s heart skipped a beat.
He’d searched for her.
She’d spent weeks believing she had been nothing to him but a release of sexual frustration.

Blinking back the tears that suddenly sprung up, she whispered, “Why?”

“Because what I did that night was criminal.”

“It was hardly criminal, Somerton. Ungentlemanly without a doubt but not an unlawful act.” She tried to wiggle, unsuccessfully, out of his grip.

“Since when isn’t rape a criminal offense?” he demanded.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered and then covered her mouth. How could he have thought such a dreadful thing?

“What?”

“Somerton, you never raped me.”

He released her so quickly she fell back against the chair. “I was there. And while I’d had far too much to drink that night, I succinctly remember you saying no.”

He turned and headed back to the door. Victoria struggled out of the chair to catch him before he left. She could not let him think that he raped her. Just as he reached for the doorknob, she threw herself against his back and held on to him.

“Dammit, Victoria,” he growled. “Let me go. I cannot stand being in here another moment. I know what I did, and if you think back, you will remember exactly what happened. I just can’t be around when you do.”

“Somerton,” she cried, tears dampening his jacket. “You did not rape me. I only had a few sips of your brandy. I wasn’t drunk. I remember everything that happened that night.”

“Then you must remember telling me no. I heard it and remember it like you said those words only yesterday. Only that night I was too foxed to think coherently and acted like a bloody fool.”

She rested her head against his strong back and felt his heart pound under her left hand. The urge to ease his pain had never been stronger. “I only said no because I didn’t want my first time with you to be on the steps of St. George’s Church.”

He dropped his head to the door. “Victoria, you were an innocent. You said no and I should have stopped.”

“I wanted you that night,” she whispered. “I wanted you so badly that instead of trying to get you to understand that I wanted to go some place private, I let you do as you pleased.”

“It was rape.”

“No, I wanted you that night almost as much as I want you now.”

Slowly Anthony turned around and faced her. Hearing her tell him that she wanted him changed everything.

“What did you say?” He slid his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away the tears she’d shed for him.

“I wanted you desperately that night. There was no one else that I wanted to be with for my first time.”

And he had treated her like a common whore. While inexperience might have been an excuse, he should have known better. “I’m sorry.”

“You were obviously upset about something that night.”

“Yes. And it might have been better if I’d had more experience,” he muttered.

“Like it would be now?” she whispered so quietly he almost didn’t hear her.

He brought his lips to her cheeks and trailed a path to her ear. “Would you like to find out?”

“Oh, God, yes.”

Bending down, he wrapped his arm around the back of her legs and picked her up. As he walked her to the bed, he stared at her, waiting for any sign of second thoughts. But her blue eyes sparkled with desire.

He placed her beside the bed and kissed her softly until she moaned. Breaking away from her tempting lips, he turned her around.

“The past few days of having to act as your lady’s maid has been torture,” he admitted as he worked at the buttons on her dress.

“Good. I didn’t want to be the only one in the agony of unrequited desire.”

As her dress slid down her body, he kissed the nape of her neck. She shivered as he moved his lips down her shoulders to her shift. He quickly unlaced her stays and removed the garment. Eliminating her shift and petticoats, left her standing in front of him with just her stockings on.

“Take your hair down for me,” he whispered. “I want to see all your glorious hair.”

“Now?” she squeaked.

“Yes.” He stared down at her small rounded breasts, itching to cup them in his hands.

He watched as her breasts moved when her hands went to the pins in her hair. As each pin dropped to the floor, his desire increased. He wanted to lay her down and sink himself into her warm depths. But this time was for her. He’d botched the first time so badly that he would do everything in his power to make this the best she had ever had.

Once all the pins were gone, her blond hair flowed down her back. Anthony spread his hands through her silky tresses. The sight of her with her hair down, standing in just her stockings almost did him in.

“Can I undress you?” she asked.

He smiled at the timid tone of her voice. Was it an act she played to convince him that she was still an innocent young girl? He honestly didn’t care how many men she’d been with. He could not judge her.

“Yes,” he replied.

Even though he knew it was going to kill him to have her hands all over him, he let her have her way. She removed his jacket and waistcoat, throwing them over to the chair in the corner, then set to work on his cravat. Once that binding was gone from his neck, she unbuttoned the small buttons on his linen shirt. His pulse thrummed in his veins when she reached to pull the shirt out of his trousers.

She had him down to just his trousers and boots. Her fingers glided down his chest, making him tighten his muscles against the desire scorching him.

“Let me take my boots off first,” he said in a husky voice.

“Very well, but I do get to remove your trousers.”

He smirked at her. “Oh?”

“I would very much like to see exactly what was inside me ten years ago.”

He gripped the bedpost for support. It was as if she knew exactly what to say to make him lose control. He yanked off his boots faster than he ever had and stood before her.

“I’m all yours,” he said.

She swallowed and stared at his chest. Once more, her fingers reached out tentatively, this time sliding over his nipples. He moaned and grabbed her hands.

“Sweetheart, you need to stop.”

“I’m sorry,” she replied with a frown.

“Take off my trousers because if I don’t get my hands on you soon, I will embarrass myself.”

He wondered at the confusion on her face but closed his eyes as she unbuttoned his trousers. If he opened his eyes, he would be done for, so instead, he pictured her in his mind. Her soft hands brought his trousers down to his knees.

Hearing her soft intake of breath, he forced his eyes open. She was staring at his erection with a stunned look on her face. He almost laughed.

“Am I that much bigger than most other men?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. Slowly, she reached a hand out to touch him.

As she did, he tilted his head back and enjoyed the sensation of her soft hand on him. He clasped his hand over hers to stop.

“I am too far gone for that tonight, sweetheart.”

Victoria wished she had a little more experience with men and understood what he was talking about. She had heard the women in the brothel talking, but her first time had been so quick that none of it made any sense. As she stroked his long cock, she shivered at the idea of it being inside her.

“Let me make love to you tonight,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to hear you moan my name as you reach your climax.”

He kissed her neck and then her mouth. The feel of his tongue on hers caused wetness to form between her legs. She moved her hips against his, savoring the hard length between them.

He picked her up and placed her gently on the bed. Smiling down at her naked body, he undid the garters holding up her stockings. He slowly slid her silk stockings down her legs then slipped his tongue across the arch of her foot.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered.

He smiled against her foot. Kissing his way back up her body, he stopped only once to stare at her breasts. With him on top of her, she felt petite and for once in her life, safe. When she moved her hands to skim through his short hair, he kissed her again.

Victoria deepened the kiss, demanding as much of him as he demanded of her. He finally broke away only to move his mouth to her erect nipple. She arched against his mouth. Never had she felt a sensation as sinful. Her body ached for more, and suddenly she had it as his hand slid down her belly until he reached the apex of her thighs.

His fingers split her folds open for him. As he rubbed his thumb against her, her desire climbed higher. He continued to stroke her, all the while his mouth kissing a path downward. When his mouth replaced his fingers, Victoria moaned.

Passion spiraled upward until she arched her back, closed her eyes and shattered. Slowly, he stopped and she fell back to reality. Opening her eyes, she saw him with a smile on his face, staring intently at her.

“I want you so badly right now,” he whispered.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“You to tell me you want me.”

Victoria blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. She understood his request. After ten years, he still felt remorse over what happened and wanted to make certain she wanted him. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him tenderly.

“I do want you, Anthony. More now than I did ten years ago.”

With a groan, he was over her. His erection pressed to her opening. She shifted her hips to allow him better access and felt him slowly slide into her wetness. He eased into her slowly, allowing her body to stretch to his size.

“Dear God, you are so tight.”

She watched his hazel eyes, which were more green than any other color, as he filled her.

“Put your legs around my hips, sweetheart,” he whispered as a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead.

As she did what he’d told her, Anthony realized something that made him stop. This was not an experienced woman. In fact, he doubted that anyone had made love with her since him. The idea that she hadn’t been with another man sent a strange sensation to his heart.

He filled her completely and then stretched out over her. Gripping her hands, he brought them over her head and clasped her hands.

“Liar,” he whispered in her ear before sliding out of her and then back inside of her warmth.

“What?” she gasped.

He repeated the movement faster this time, watching her eyes sparkle. He’d never felt anything as exquisite as her body under his. This slip of a woman had a hold over him unlike any other woman. As her eyes shuttered, he knew she was nearing her climax. Thrusting into her again, he felt her tighten around him until he couldn’t help but follow her over the precipice.